i'm 2 days late sorry forgive me pls 

it's been a hectic week whoops

***

"So, apparently Monday Carter is throwing a party."

Dani's voice slides into the air, eagerly biting into a homemade panini as she glances at us from across the table. Eyes bright, she pushes curls of her hair behind her ears as she fills us in on the party.

It's been about a month since Monday's coming out, and I'm guessing this party is to invite nothing short of the school to celebrate with them. 

Riya breaks off a piece of Dani's panini, nodding slowly. "Sounds gay, I'm in."

Which isn't surprising to hear. After all, Riya Khatri is the brown bicon that your parents ought to have warned you about. Her queerness has always been something she kept under wraps. She'd only moved here at the beginning of last year, after all.

However, the state and school she'd moved from hadn't exactly been too fond of any aspect of her identity. But with a somewhat huge move, Riya owns every aspect of her identity with flippant peace signs, and her chin tilted way up in a way that commands all attention. Like she knows exactly who she is.

"Well," Amir shrugs, leaning back in his seat as his fingers drum across the table, glancing towards Riya. "If you and Dani are going, then I'm going."

I raise a hand to my chest in faux offense, catching onto Amir's unintentional—or intentional— slight. "Ouch. What about me?"

Amir rolls his eyes, giving me an unimpressed look. "We already know you'll be there. Can't miss a chance to hook up." Despite the effort to keep his face even and slightly rigid, amusement dominates his features as he finishes. "Horny fucker."

"Rude," I say, hand against my chest. Amir just maintains that unimpressed look before turning back to Riya and Dani, diving into some conversation that I subsequently get distracted from.

My eyes scan the cafeteria, almost searching for something. My eyes travel from table to table when I hear a slight snort, drawing my eyes back to Riya.

"Looking for your latest victim?" She asks, leaning back in her chair, eyebrows raised and challenging grin rising to her lips.

Without removing my eyes from the cafeteria, I flip her off, to which she snorts. "You don't disrespect your mother like that." 

To which I reply, eyes still on the scene, "Too bad, mom."

A smirk curves onto my lips at the dramatic gasp elicited from Riya. She swiftly returns back to Amir and Dani's conversation after a not-so-gentle kick at my shins underneath the table. My eyes continue to rove over the tables.

My eyes find the GSA table, everyone hovering around each other, laughter filling the air, bright colors practically emitting from the table. Then, my eyes land on him. Lucas Garcia.

He's laughing, eyes refracting off of the cafeteria lights, teeth stark white and glowing, skin as warm as the sun. They rest on him for a few moments when his eyes almost seem to rise from the table, locking with mine.

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I feel like I've gotten caught. Something warm curls onto my cheeks as a grin spreads onto Lucas' lips.

A grin directed towards me.

"Jason."

I blink.

"Jason."

My eyes dart away from the GSA table and back to my friends who are in deep conversation, eyes finding mine. Amir nods at me, turning back to Riya as I tune back into the conversation.

"So," Riya says, leaning forward at the table, eyes shimmering with amusement. "Evelyn's flying in today." She checks her watch. "In fact, I'm picking her up tonight."

Voice lovestruck as usual, Riya fills us in on her girlfriend's current visiting. After all, the two of them had known each other back when Riya lived there. However, both of them had been knee-deep into the closet at the time.

After all, their school wasn't the most accepting, and the two of them had been on opposite ends of the social spectrum. Still, despite the toxic mess that they had to live through, they still wound up in each other's arms. Even if they were taken through a windy, seemingly endless maze to get there.

Obviously, Riya'd moved here, started afresh. But she still kept in contact with Evelyn, and all the other misfits from her old school— her friends, really.

Lunch speeds by in a blur, sound drowning out as soon as the warning bell rings. Rising to my feet alongside the rest of my friends, we exit the cafeteria, shoulders bumping into each other, all making our way out into the hall.

Then, we're at our classes. A painful Economics class draws to an end, and the bell rings, signalling a break. Which of course, is barely time to pass through our classes, but fortunately for me, this block is a free block for me.

So, I make my way down the halls, backpack swinging, hanging lowly from my shoulders, my eyes scanning the area.

My eyes zoom in on the bulletin board, and I catch sight of a wavy-haired brunette, hanging posters on the bulletin board.

"Need any help?" I ask, making my way over to her. Ellie Evans looks up at me, lips curving into a grin of somewhat relief.

"Glad you're here." A pause. "These are just posters for Iridescence. Just to let people know that it's coming up soon." She says, handing me a few posters of my own. 

I mirror her actions, placing a pin in between my lips where it wobbles precariously, while I hold a poster against the other end of the board, stabbing both pins in it, a smug grin appearing on my lips as I do so.

A few moments later, a familiarly upbeat"hey" cuts through my mindless thoughts. I glance over to see Lucas approaching us, Ellie shooting him a grin as he comes to a stop in front of the bulletin board.

With that, he slips a few posters from Ellie's hands, hanging one against the bulletin board with the ease of someone who has done this a million times before. I'm guessing being part of nearly every musical since freshman year has made his poster-hanging skills top tier.

His forearm brushes by mine as he adjusts the poster against the bulletin board, retracting his arms from where they were temporarily suspended, glancing over at me with that lopsided grin and an easy "sorry".

"Hey," I start, before rushing out. "Could I come over to your place before the party?" A pause. "Because Ms. Willis has the house tonight." Which is true, given I'd sooner fling myself into oblivion that spend the rest of the night with that toxicity. Especially seeing as Ms. Willis'd never let me leave the house.

The thought had been twisting and turning through my mind for just about the entire morning, and while I hadn't given much thought into the solution earlier, Lucas' presence seemed to pull the question out of me.

A show-stopping grin appears on Lucas' lips, and I'm more than certain that he's used it for every grand performance he's pulled.

This one isn't just for show, though.

And the smile that curves onto my lips in response is nothing short of genuine.

***

Trailing behind Lucas, I make my way up the front stairs of his house. His house is nice, really. It has that simplistic design. My eyes find a bienvenidos mat at his front door, all contributing to the quaint vibe the entire place emits.

While I've technically been here before, seeing the place hits different when I'm not drunk off my ass nor incredibly sleep deprived and slightly horny.

Lucas pushes the door open, and I trail after him. There are a few candles on a countertop, just sitting in a container. Once I make my way into the living room, Lucas comes to a stop, and I do, too.

Sidling past him, my eyes flicker to the dining table. It's a faint mahogany, and people are seated around it. I recognize Luis who is seated on the table, legs outstretched as he types something onto his phone. Next to him is a girl that looks younger than both him and Luis. 

Said girl is typing something onto a laptop, black waves falling to her shoulders. Across from them are two parents. Most definitely Lucas' mom and dad, rapid conversation filling the table.

The girl glances up, eyebrows raised. 

"Valé, this is Jason." Lucas says, gesturing towards me before glancing over at his sister— my mind working out that this has got to be the intensely food-protective Valeria that Luis had mentioned the other day.

"Jason, Valeria." He says, arms gestured between the two of us. Taking a good glance at Valeria, I can vaguely remember her face from around the halls. A tenth grader, meaning next to no classes together, but there nonetheless.

"Good afternoon." Another voice appears in the air, and my eyes dart to the man who I'm certain is Lucas' dad. He gives me a semi-welcoming grin, rising to his feet, eyes brightened as he leans back in his chair. In seconds, Lucas' mom rises from her seat, approaching me, two brief kisses on both cheeks.

I'm not accustomed to the affection, so I blink nothing short of a million times. "Uh, hello." Pause. "Good morning." Pause. "Good afternoon, I mean."

Luis snorts from where he's seated, to which his mom responds with a: "Quiet, Huicho." And he does quiet down, almost instantaneously, but I can still see the snort threatening to escape his lips at my inane awkwardness.

"Lindo," Lucas' mom says, hands sliding around her hips as she glances at Lucas who lets out a slight groan at the first word. "Is this your friend?"

Lucas glances over at me, catching my gaze. "Yeah, yeah he is."

I ignore the way my heart skips before I awkwardly add,"Yeah,"making a move forward before nearly plummeting into the hardwood floor, and doing all I can to resist the string of curses that threaten to spill from my lips.

Luis loses his shit. The snorts come tumbling out. Valeria lets out a couple of snickers. Lucas' dad coughs, and his mom tries to restrain a smile.

"Torpe." She says, grinning at me. "You're Torpe now, alright?" My eyebrows fly upwards at the name Lucas' mom has seemingly christened me with.

Lucas' dad clears his throat. "Luis has a football game this Friday."

And it's almost like in an instant, I can sense the way Lucas' shoulder sags as though this is something they've been over multiple times.

Lucas' dad continues, glancing at Lucas from across the table. "You should try out for one of the teams in your school, hijo."

"I'm already busy with the GSA and an upcoming event we have to plan." Lucas replies, his voice is easy, but the way his fingers are intertwining seem anything but.

"Look at what all the sports are doing for your brother. Es atlético, and it's great." He glances over at Luis who is back to being invested into his phone. "Captain of the football team, just like I was back in the day. Come on, será bueno para ti."

"I hear you, Dad, but I've still got a lot of GSA things to do, things to organize." A slightly strained smile appears on his lips. 

Before Lucas' dad can say anything else, Lucas calls out a quick chao before grabbing my arm and giving me a light tug out of the living room. Once he's certain I'm following him, he races up the stairs, me stumbling up after him, giving a semi-apologetic wave to his family.

Lucas flops down on his bed, the bright one that I woke up in not too long ago. The room is still illuminated, sunlight dusting the space. Slight irritation crawls onto Lucas' face, which looks out of place on a boy that looks like he's been drenched with the sun.

"You alright?" I ask, leaning back against the doorway, eyes finding his sprawled out body on the bed.

"It doesn't matter," Lucas laughs without much amusement, corner of his lips tugging upwards.

"My parents are just really proud of Luis," He says after a little while, eyes still on his white ceiling fan. "Dad sees him as a younger version of himself." The next laugh feels painful. "I'm kind of like the black sheep of the family."

He says it like it's fine. It's not. And I hate to see how bothered he sounds, how fucking frustrated. It drives me up the wall. So, I find myself taking a few steps closer, letting my shoulders fall into a shrug.

"I mean," I say easily, "I think you're pretty cool." A pause as Lucas' eyes brighten somewhat. "You know, for a twink."

Lucas chucks the pillow at my head, and it hits me square in the face as I outstretch my arms in faux offense, Lucas making his way into his bathroom, calling out something about going to change.

But I catch a flicker of a smile, and that's something.

***

The two of us slide into the little red car that emits Lucas energy, the road glossing by us as Lucas lowers the windows, wind flipping through our hair.

Glasses rest on Lucas' eyes, and even while looking somewhat badass— not Ellie Evans level of badass, but up there— he crawls across the road, and it's deathly hard for me to stifle snickers at every overcautious movement and Lucas' fervent apologies every time a driver honks at him.

By the time we arrive at Monday's house, Lucas steps out of the car, running an anxious hand through short waves and removing his sunglasses in favor of hanging them on the collar of his fitted t-shirt, the two of us making our way up the steps of their house, glancing at each other every so often.

No sooner has Lucas' pointer finger touched the doorbell does Monday pull the entire door wide open, their cheeks dusted with glitter—something that I'm certain can be credited to one Avery Becker— and a massive smile curled onto their lips.

"It's about time," They snort, curls all tussed up, everything about their aura screaming absolute euphoria.

"Hey, Monday." Lucas' says, grin appearing before Monday ushers us into their house, still smiling.

My eyes scan the room, before catching onto a familiar head of black hair. Riya Khatri. Her back is against the wall, hands knotted up in the brown waves of her girlfriend, lips pressed against each other's.

Choosing not to interrupt for obvious reasons, I opt to catch sight of Amir, who is taking a sip out of his water— or maybe it's coffee this time— as he talks to some of the other down-to-earth guys. Most of which I'm guessing are responsible for dragging their friends' drunk asses home.

Before I can say much else, a song strikes through the air. A smile curves onto Lucas' lips as he seemingly recognizes the lyrics, making his way further in front of me, the music blaring from the speakers.

Monday claps their hands together, glancing up at where Lucas is standing right at the center of the floor, the smile on his lips unfading. "This is his shit," Monday says, whispering into my ear, clapping their hands together again.

 The music swells, simple and twisting, and Lucas seems to naturally flow into it. Every turn, every twist. Neon lights dance on his skin, and he's all smiles, the music seeming to control every turn of his body, every twirl. 

His eyes flutter shut as he moves.

His movements seem to command all attention, yet are so subtle that if your eyes didn't latch onto him, you might not notice the subtle movements. However, once your eyes do latch onto him, they won't let go.

I blink so many times that I can barely see, until I force my eyes open so that I don't miss a beat, a second. I'd hate myself if I did. A low breath escapes my lips.

I might just be entranced.

***

more lucas! makes me happy :')

and from now on jason is officially known as torpe 😌